Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks
by Hawk
Summary: Narcissa Malfoy has joined the Order of the Phoenix and she has plans that could turn the Wizarding World upside down. Not to forget how it will affect Harry Potter...
1. Prologue

Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: The amazing redemptionman Fumblebore has done it again, recruited yet another dubious person to the Light and inducted them into the Order of the Phoenix. But Narcissa Malfoy is not a woman to be taken lightly and doesn't suffer fools easily. She has plans of her own, plans that could prove disasterous for the Order... And Harry Potter, Champion of the Light...

FF dot net Summary: Narcissa Malfoy has joined the Order of the Phoenix and she has plans that could turn the Wizarding World upside down. Not to forget how it will affect Harry Potter...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.  
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something. ... Whenever I get around to uploading it there. :)

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

* * *

Prologue:

He felt like throwing up.

He had felt like throwing up two days ago, when he'd first been told.

He had felt like throwing up one day ago, when what he'd been told had finally started to penetrate his conscious thoughts.

He still felt like throwing up now.

"Hello, mother." he stated gravely in a leaden voice, his eyes falling upon the woman whom had conceived him, looking at her as he'd rarely looked before.

It was funny, really, he tried to tell himself. Funny, that he'd hardly known how his mother looked before right now. Somewhere around eight or nine years of age, he'd grown an independent streak a mile wide and depended less and less on his mother. She'd always just sort of been there and he'd hardly taken note of her.

She hadn't changed much, but now that he really looked at her, he could spot some minor changes.

She'd lost weight, for one. Not so much that it made her look sickly, but she was thinner then he remembered. Tiny lines and wrinkles showed, signs of her age that she always took meticulous care to hide from the surrounding world. Her hair still shone and shimmered, meticulously cared for as it was. He knew that she took great pride in it and would go through any amount of effort to keep it in pristine condition. Her eyes looked tired and her lips looked as if they hadn't been used to smile for quite some time, a fact which both shocked and horrified him.

He'd always remembered her smiling happily at him, but as he frantically thought back upon his last handful of years in life, he realized that he hadn't seen a true smile grace her lips since his tenth birthday party.

"It is time, then?" she asked tiredly, looking at him without surprise, as if it was normal for her teenaged son to appear in her bedroom early in the morning, looking like hell turned over and grasping his wand so tightly that his fingers had turned white.

"Time for what?" he asked with a confused expression.

"For you to kill me." she replied without emotion.

"What?" he asked as his expression grew even more confused. /How did she know/ he wondered, feeling the bile rising again.

"Stop playing games, Draco. I'm no fool and I sure didn't raise one." she snapped, finally allowing a bit of anger to creep into her voice and expression. "You-kn... Voldemort ordered you to kill me for your initiation, didn't he? Your arm isn't marked yet, you don't come to see me like this for no reason and you went with your father to the meeting two days ago." she snarled and drew herself up, glaring at him. "Just get it over with."

"I..." he started, but trailed off. /I could never do that to you, mother./ he thought, even if he couldn't finish the sentence out loud. It was, after all, what he had to do. It was what he was here to do. He gripped his wand even tighter then he already was, hearing how the wood creaked faintly under the pressure he was applying to it. "I am sorry, mother." he said instead.

"Like hell you are, Draco." she said tiredly and closed her eyes. "Just... Just get it over with."

"Do as your mother says, boy." Lucius suddenly spoke up, causing the other two occupants of the room to twirl their heads around to see him standing in a corner of the room, gradually fading into view as the spell he was under dissipated. "Our Lord doesn't tolerate failures or procrastination."

"Yes, wouldn't want to keep the 'Dark Lord' waiting, now would we?" she asked sarcastically, before gazing steadily at Lucius. "For thicker or for thin, for better or for worse, until death do us part." Narcissa snapped, shaking her head and staring dispassionately at Lucius. She laughed humourlessly and shed a few tears. "You never did love me, did you?" she asked rhetorically.

"You gave me a male Heir. For that, I will always remember you fondly." Lucius politely replied, but coldly, without a speck of emotion in his voice. "You served your purpose well enough for me and now you will serve my son as well, providing him entry into the ranks of our Lord."

Draco swallowed repeatedly, trying to avoid embarrassing himself by throwing up in front of his parents. Fear, loathing, shame, and disgust weren't feelings he was accustomed to feeling and he certainly didn't like feeling them right now. He glanced over at his father, the epitome of what he'd always strived to be, though he couldn't recall the reasons for it right now. He looked back at his mother and made his decision.

She was weak, crippled by her emotions. She held them back, both him and his father. She was the weak link, had refused Lord Voldemorts invites to join the Death Eaters and he'd barely seen her at all except for supper at the mansion and various official gatherings for the last couple of years. Even when he was at home for holidays, he rarely spent any time with her. She was a perpetual early riser, he liked to sleep in. She went to bed early, he stayed up late. He liked eating out, she preferred home-cooked meals.

He pointed his wand at her and took a deep breath, pushing the rising bile down back into his stomach where it belonged.

"Avada Kedavra." he snapped and swung his wand around, pointing it at his father who jerked back in shock.

No matter what else she was or how estranged from her he'd gotten, she was still his mother.

"Avada Kedavra!" Lucius cried out as he jerked his wand out, pointing it at Draco.

Two sickly green beams flew across the rooms, Lucius being struck first and crumpling to the floor in a boneless heap.

"Mother, I lo-grk!" Draco managed to get out, before he too was struck and was flung back by the immensely greater power of his fathers experienced attack.

Narcissa stared silently at the scene before her, her expression one of supreme shock. She slowly staggered upright from her seat in the chair standing before her make-up table. She wobbled over to Lucius and bent down, feeling for a pulse without finding one. She slowly stood up and looked down at her deceased husband, kicking him in the ribs before she wobbled over towards Draco.

She bent down next to him and felt for a pulse, without finding even the slightest hint of one. She cried a silent tear and bent down to place an affectionate kiss upon his rapidly cooling lips, before she straightened herself up, still feeling for a pulse.

"Draco! Don't do i..." a panicked voice cried out as the door was flung open and someone rushed into her bedroom, the voice trailing off in silence mid-sentence as the rushing steps slowed down and the person stopped mid-stride. "Oh..." came a quiet exclamation.

"He's dead..." Narcissa whispered, her right hand still feeling for a pulse, unable to comprehend that she couldn't feel one, unable to comprehend that her son was dead. "He... He didn't kill me." she voiced in stunned amazement. "He... Loved me."

She heard the new arrival move over towards Lucius, saw out of the corner of her eyes how this stranger bent down to check on Lucius, before he stood up and moved over towards her.

"He's dead... He spared my life... My son is dead..." Narcissa mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs Malfoy." this new arrival stated and after a few moments, she felt a hand awkwardly land on her right shoulder.

She shrugged to rid herself of this stranger touching her and the hand was quickly withdrawn, almost as if burned or bitten.

"You have to come with me, Mrs Malfoy." the stranger stated. "Voldemort will know soon that Draco and Lucius are dead. I can't imagine that he'll let you live after this."

"Why bother?" she sighed and slumped, leaning forward over Draco's body, resting her head on his chest, tilting her head to look at his finely sculpted features. "Just leave me here. I've resigned myself to my fate anyway."

"Come on, Mrs Malfoy. There's already been one unnecessary death here today. I don't want there to be another one." the stranger countered.

/One? Why not two? Lucius couldn't have been this guys personal favourite, I guess./ she briefly thought, but admitted to herself that she didn't really care.

"Just leave me alone." she sighed and reached up with her left hand to caress Draco's pale cheek. He had never really gotten enough sun, always staying indoors other then when he was flying, she reflected sadly as she caressed his silky-smooth skin. /All natural.../ she reflected, feeling a brief twinge of irrational irritation at that. She acomplished the same with potions, lotions and a few handy spells. Lucius and Draco were born with it.

"Get up, Mrs Malfoy." the stranger ordered, though there was no real firmness behind his words.

"Why do you care!" she screamed and sat upright, glaring at the interference. "Who are you by the way!" she demanded to know, something in the back of her mind screaming at her that she knew this person, someone much younger then she had expected. It wasn't until she spotted the scar on his forehead that she realized who he was though.

"Harry Potter, Mrs Malfoy. We've met once, at the World Cup." he replied before she could add that she'd realized who he was.

"Then sod off, Potter! I'm staying right here." she snarled and lowered her head to Draco's chest again.

"You said that he saved you. He wanted you to live. Do you care so little for his sacrifice that you're willing to make his death pointless?" Harry asked after a few moments of awkward silence and she whimpered in response, his words feeling just as bad as if he had shoved a knife into her chest or hit her with a Cruciatus.

"You're an asshole, Potter." she hissed.

"We don't have time for the kiddie gloves, Mrs Malfoy. We need to leave this place. Now." he stated gravely, then sighed. "I'm not even supposed to be here..." he muttered under his breath, before he drew himself up, bent down and pulled her into an upright position.

"I'm not leaving him!" Narcissa snapped and prepared to throw herself down at her son's corpse again, when Harry bent down and gently picked him up.

"You're not." Harry said and looked down at Draco with a weird expression on his face, as if he was unsure about what he was doing with him in his arms. She had a feeling that he'd much rather caress a live cobra then hold her son in his arms. "I am leaving with him. He wanted you to live and died to ensure that you would. Unless you want to ignore his dying desire and be left behind to be killed, you'll have to come with us."

"Arsehole." she growled.

"You're coming, then?" he asked, completely ignoring her insults. "You have five minutes to get dressed and gather whatever you want to bring along."

* * *

"Why did you come?" Narcissa asked after having grown bored of staring disdainfully at the overcrowded Muggle transport Harry had insisted on them using. In order to distract herself from being surrounded by filthy Muggles, she tried to start up a conversation. "And how did you know to come?" she added as she realized just how odd it was for Potter to show up out of the blue like that.

"I see things, sometimes..." Harry explained after so long a silence that she thought that he'd decided to ignore her. "I get these visions, see things from Voldemorts point of view. That's how I knew what Draco had been ordered to do. We've never been friendly, in fact, we've been anything but friendly. But even if he's been a right prat ever since we first met, I still didn't want him to do something like what he'd been told to do and be condemned for all eternity for his actions. So, I came as soon as I could, hoping that I could talk some sense into him before it was too late." he added and sighed, looking over at the lifeless body beside him.

He'd asked her to make the body lighter and cast notice-me-not-charms on it, which had caused the Muggles around them to largely ignore their presence as well as make it easier for Potter to move around with her dead son in his arms.

"Why? Why do you care if I live or die?" Narcissa demanded to know.

"You're another human being, just like me. I don't want anyone to die." Harry replied. "Not even Draco." he added with a tired sigh.

"You're naive, Potter. People get killed all the time." Narcissa countered.

"I know. But they shouldn't. That's why Voldemort and everybody like him have to be stopped." he replied morosely.

"Saps like you and Dumbledore can't stop Voldemort. He won't stop until he's dead and none of you have the guts to do that. Dumbledore hasn't killed anyone since Grindelwald and I heard that was mostly by accident." Narcissa replied.

"I will have to do it." Harry replied, rubbing his temples and looking even more depressed then he had before.

"Oh, why is that?" Narcissa asked and saw how Potter became guarded.

"Because nobody else seems about to do it. Heck, most people can't even say his name without twitching and stuttering." Harry eventually replied. While she couldn't find fault in his words, she knew that he was lying. He had another reason for it, something that he didn't want to or couldn't tell her.

No matter.

She'd find out what he hid from her sooner or later.

"Where are we going?" she asked instead, figuring that the current line of questioning wouldn't lead anywhere at the moment.

"London." Harry replied.

"I guessed there was a reason that 'London' was written on the bus." she commented acidly. "Where in London are we going?" she clarified.

"Grimmauld Place." Harry answered with a sigh.

"Whatever for?" she asked. "What's in Grimmauld Place?"

"You'll see." he replied.

"Unless you answer my question, I will take Draco and leave you here. I can Apparate, you can not." she informed him.

"Sirius home." Harry replied shortly.

"My cousin Sirius? He had a place there?" she asked.

"It's under the Fidelius Charm, so you probably can't remember it." Harry explained.

"Why would a dead mans home be under the Fidelius Charm?" Narcissa asked. "Sirius couldn't have cast it himself, he wasn't powerful enough for that and even if he were, the Charm would have failed by now."

"Dumbledore cast it." Harry replied.

"Why would that old man cas... Wait... Now I get it. The Order of the Phoenix." she said with a note of distaste in her voice.

"Yeah. They'll know what to do." Harry replied.

"The light's finest. Pft!" Narcissa snorted, but refrained from commenting any further on the subject. She did think about it, however. She wasn't all that fond of Muggles, Mudbloods and Half-bloods herself, but she'd never really supported the so-called Dark Lord and his extinction policy. She certainly hadn't gone against it, but she'd never taken the mark or actively supported the 'cause' either, like Lucius had and Draco had wanted to.

She was more of an Isolationist, prefering to remain separate from them as she saw no real point in exterminating or enslaving them. She certainly didn't want them anywhere close to her, but that was something that could be easily acomplished with magic. Half-Bloods were disgusting, half Muggle as they were. But she was open-minded enough to realize that they could be taught to behave like proper wizards and witches with proper training and instruction. Mudbloods on the other hands... Muggles with magical powers... For them it would be better to seal their magic away, Obliviate them and toss them back to where they came from.

But now she was on her own and Potter was right in that the Dark Lord would want to be rid of her after having lost a member of his Inner Circle and a new recruit trying to assassinate her. She needed allies and she needed protection. The Order of the Phoenix could provide that.

At least to begin with, until she could arrange for something better.

She glanced down at Draco's still face and unmoving body, then looked out of the window to the passing scenery. If she spent any more time looking at Draco, she wouldn't be able to think clearly and she needed that now. Now that the shock had settled somewhat, she wasn't all that keen on dying just yet.

She also wanted revenge on the Dark Lord.

There was much to consider before they arrived in London.

The End! ( For now... )


	2. One

Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: The amazing redemptionman Fumblebore has done it again, recruited yet another dubious person to the Light and inducted them into the Order of the Phoenix. But Narcissa Malfoy is not a woman to be taken lightly and doesn't suffer fools easily. She has plans of her own, plans that could prove disastrous for the Order... And Harry Potter, Champion of the Light...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.  
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something. ... Whenever I get around to uploading it there. :)

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existence more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Previously, on 'Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks'

"The light's finest. Pft!" Narcissa snorted, but refrained from commenting any further on the subject. She did think about it, however. She wasn't all that fond of Muggles, Mudbloods and Half-bloods herself, but she'd never really supported the so-called Dark Lord and his extinction policy. She certainly hadn't gone against it, but she'd never taken the mark or actively supported the 'cause' either, like Lucius had and Draco had wanted to.

She was more of an Isolationist, preferring to remain separate from them as she saw no real point in exterminating or enslaving them. She certainly didn't want them anywhere close to her, but that was something that could be easily accomplished with magic. Half-Bloods were disgusting, half Muggle as they were. But she was open-minded enough to realize that they could be taught to behave like proper wizards and witches with proper training and instruction. Mudbloods on the other hands... Muggles with magical powers... For them it would be better to seal their magic away, Obliviate them and toss them back to where they came from.

But now she was on her own and Potter was right in that the Dark Lord would want to be rid of her after having lost a member of his Inner Circle and a new recruit trying to assassinate her. She needed allies and she needed protection. The Order of the Phoenix could provide that.

At least to begin with, until she could arrange for something better.

She glanced down at Draco's still face and unmoving body, then looked out of the window to the passing scenery. If she spent any more time looking at Draco, she wouldn't be able to think clearly and she needed that now. Now that the shock had settled somewhat, she wasn't all that keen on dying just yet.

She also wanted revenge on the Dark Lord.

There was much to consider before they arrived in London.

Roll credits

* * *

Chapter One:

"Finally, we're here." Harry said after the two of them had left the cab that had taken them to Grimmauld Place, Harry carrying Draco's body. He headed confidently towards the empty space between fourteen and ten, all the while thinking that the Order's headquarters were located at twelve Grimmauld Place, seeing how it faded into existence.

"I don't see it." Narcissa announced and reached out, grabbing Harry's shoulder with her left hand, pulling him to a stop. He winced at the sudden piercing pain that shot through him, the woman had a grip of iron and very sharp nails. He just barely managed to prevent himself from emitting a simpering whimper and he couldn't help but wonder if she was drawing blood or not. He refrained from commenting upon it and then started walking again, pulling her along in his wake as he headed towards the door, opened it and cautiously walked inside in hopes of not disturbing the annoying portrait.

"Harry! Why are you he-Aunt Narcissa!" Tonks exclaimed as she walked out of the kitchen to see who it was who had opened the door to number twelve. She seemed surprised albeit somewhat pleased to see Harry, but once she saw Narcissa she took a step back and her eyes bulged out in extreme surprise that caused the one she had displayed earlier at seeing Harry to pale in comparison.

"Nymphadora. I shouldn't be surprised to see you here, I suppose." Narcissa stated coldly as she slowly removed her hand from Harry's shoulder, causing him to let out a quiet sigh of relief as the pain suddenly lessened. /Note to self. If mucking about with a dead child in the mothers presence is going to happen again, wear padded clothing and bring Pain-relieving-potions./ he thought and winced as the pain returned with a vengeance for a few moments, before it eased up again.

"Wha-whu-whe..." Tonks stuttered, then seemed to focus as she noticed Harry's burden. "... Is that... Draco?" she asked, cautiously inching closer. "What's wrong with him?" she inquired with a worried tone of voice, her expression turning increasingly horrified as she got closer and noticed more about him.

Like his lack of breathing.

"He's dead." Narcissa replied before Harry had a chance to do so. She felt grief tearing at her, demanding that she break down, but she hardened her resolve and kept up a stoic facade. She could break down in private later on, for now, she had to be strong. She couldn't afford to show any weakness to these people, no weakness at all.

"What happened?!" Tonks asked and Harry blinked at the note of concern and grief in her voice, before he realized something that he hadn't really considered before. No matter how much he despised Draco, others might not and Tonks was a relative of his. Not a respected or even liked one from what he could tell, but it appeared as if Tonks cared about her family even if the feelings weren't returned.

"Lucius killed him. And Draco killed Lucius." Narcissa replied. "Then Potter here decided to steal the body and in doing so, forced me to tag along." she spat out with a venomous glare directed at Harry, who merely shrugged and rolled his eyes. /Now I'm starting to see the Malfoy in her.../ he thought. She'd been remarkably docile ever since he first saw her, cast charms at his request, following him along and everything. /Probably shocked out of her mind, can't be every day that her entire family kills itself before her eyes./ he reasoned.

"What?!" Tonks exclaimed, turning a shocked gaze at Harry.

"Basically what she said." Harry agreed with a shake of his head and gently lowered the corpse down into an uncomfortable looking chair, with legs carved to resemble human bodies. "I didn't want to just leave her there to be killed as well, so I decided to take Draco with me to get her to come with me. Didn't know where else to go, so I headed over here." he added to fill out the shocked silence that Tonks had responded with when he agreed with Narcissa's outrageous statement.

"Well, y'did the right thing... I guess..." Tonks stated hesitantly, before she shook her head and appeared to get her mind back on track. "It's just me and Hestia here at the moment, I'd better call Dumbledore."

"Yeah. Wouldn't want to let Dumbledore miss a chance to tell me how disappointed he is with me and how stupid it was for me to leave the Dursley's, would we? Despite the fact that the guard who was supposed to be there wasn't and I had no other way to contact you guys except by owl which is way to slow for any urgent stuff..." Harry grumbled, clenching and unclenching his fists in barely suppressed irritation. While he had calmed down somewhat after the confrontation in Dumbledores office, a couple of weeks of staying with the Dursley's had certainly provided ample kindling for the fires of his anger to keep burning.

Tonks hesitated mid-step and glanced with concern over at Harry for a few moments, looking as if she wanted to say something in response to that. But eventually she merely shrugged and started walking again without saying anything.

"Not too fond of the old man, are we?" Narcissa drawled with the merest hint of a smirk dancing around the edges of her lips, rather obvious in her attempts to keep Draco out of her field of vision. The way she positioned herself, the way she held her head, the directions her eyes moved in... She really did everything in her power to ensure that she wasn't looking anywhere even remotely near Draco. "Doesn't quite mesh with what I've heard, that."

"I don't quite agree with all his decisions." Harry stated evasively as he wondered if he could keep up such a facade of unbending strength and determination if he were the one who had just lost his family. Not that he really knew what it felt like, but if he tried to imagine what state he'd be in if Ron and Hermione had been killed before his eyes alongside with Sirius, he would probably be a crying mess. It had been bad enough with Sirius getting killed, as he had been Harry's ticket away from the Dursleys and a connection to his parents. But at least he knew that he still had Ron and Hermione.

But if they killed each other before him, leaving him all alone in the world, he didn't think he'd even be half as composed as Narcissa portrayed herself as at the moment.

"Good for you." Narcissa announced and clenched her fists for a few moments. "Never did quite agree with his choices either, in particular the one not to break up my sisters marriage at our request."

"Bellatrix was married against her will?" Harry asked, feeling faintly shocked at the weird direction the conversation had taken, but eager to follow up on it. Anything to get his mind off the fact that he'd had a dead body, Draco's dead body, in his arms and lap for nearly two hours now. He desperately wanted to take a shower and change his clothes. He felt... Dirty. The fact that he was standing just a step away from said corpse, wasn't helping matters either.

"She wasn't all that thrilled with it, but went along with it none the less and learned to live with that useless lump. No, I was talking about Andromeda. We petitioned to have her marriage to that useless slob dissolved, but the esteemed supreme Mugwump decided to throw our case out of the courts." Narcissa said, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

"Did Andromeda want her marriage dissolved?" Harry asked.

"I would presume so." Narcissa replied. "It was a drunken mistake, after all." she continued and shook her head in disgust. "Though she's actually stayed married all these years. How she puts up with that Muggleborn dolt is beyond me, however." she snorted and Harry noticed how her eyes suddenly moistened up as her gaze swept across Draco. She closed her eyes and looked away, when she opened them again, the moistness was gone.

He took a few steps away from Draco's corpse, which would allow her to look at him without getting Draco in her field of vision.

"Have you even met him?" Harry asked and was met with silence for a few seconds, before Narcissa managed to continue.

"Of course. We were at Hogwarts at the same time, if not the same year. I've had the distinct displeasure of having to deal with him after he graduated as well in his capacity as a clerk at the Ministry of Magic." Narcissa replied condescendingly. "At least their daughter Nymphadora has some ambition, even if it is foolishly directed towards working as an Auror instead of something more appropriate." she sniffed.

"She's a good Auror!" Harry retorted.

"Oh?" Narcissa inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Then pray tell me, why is she loitering around here instead of out there working on a Tuesday afternoon?"

"Uhm..." Harry begun, but didn't actually know the answer to that.

"There are some big cases solved that can be accredited mainly to her efforts, I'll admit. But there's also a large number of cases that remain unsolved because of her messing up in some way." the stately woman argued. "If she's here on a workday, it's probably because she has been suspended. Again."

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he kept his peace before messing up even more.

This apparently broke the weird mood that had allowed for them to converse with each other and the two of them waited in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, before Dumbledore arrived with Tonks trailing after him like a love-sick puppy following its master.

"Harry. Mrs Malfoy." Dumbledore greeted them. "I must confess that I didn't expect to see either one of you here." he jovially continued.

"You can blame Potter for that." Narcissa sniffed with a haughty expression.

"Which you no doubt will..." Harry muttered under his breath, glaring daggers at Dumbledore.

"There is no need for blame to be assigned. Although there is another matter that needs to be dealt with post-haste. Nymphadora, will you escort Harry back to his family? It is paramount for his safety." Dumbledore rumbled good-naturedly. "I will handle things here."

"Sure thing, Mistah D." Tonks drawled after a brief flinch and pause when he called her by her given name. "C'mon, Harry, let's blow this joint." she urged him and strolled over, linking her left arm with his right.

"I am sorry for your loss, Mrs Malfoy." Harry said and lowered his head for a moment. "Headmaster." he finished coldly and lowered his head a miniscule amount towards him as well, before he followed Tonks as she dragged him towards the Floo. While he felt a nearly irresistible urge to shove the Headmaster into the wall as he walked past him, he managed to restrain himself from physically showing the contempt he felt and even managed to keep up a thin veneer of politeness. "If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow some books from the library before leaving." he told Tonks once they were a bit away from the Headmaster.

"Books? Why? It's the summer, you shouldn't spend that cooped up indoors with a bunch of boring books!" Tonks protested. "Get out, get a tan, spend time with your Muggle friends, snog with some girls and have a blast!" she eagerly instructed him, her eyes shining as she rather obviously remembered back to her own summer holidays when she was his age.

"I'm not allowed outside other then for chores in the garden, I don't have Muggle friends and my Wizarding friends aren't allowed to visit, so all of the above are moot points for me." Harry sighed.

"You're not allowed outside?" Tonks asked with a shocked expression. "I though we warned those wretched Muggles? I'm going to show them what's what!" she exclaimed and made wand-waving motions with her hand, a fierce expression on her face.

"It's not their fault this time, it's Dumbledore. He wrote them a letter telling them to keep me around the house, 'for my own safety'. They interpreted that as 'Lock him up in his room until we have a use for him'. So some books I haven't already read to alleviate my boredom would be really nice to have." he replied despondently.

"... Oh. ... Well, I guess it's all right then. Though Dumbledore can't have meant for you to spend the entire summer indoors. I'll have a chat with him when we get back so he can write another letter to the Muggles." Tonks tried to assure him.

"Good luck with that." Harry muttered under his breath as the two of them headed for the Black Library where Harry picked out a few books for some boredom-alleviating reading.

"Oh, here's 'Alunar Shortnecks Quick'n Dirty Duelling Tips'. Moody is always raving about that one." Tonks commented as she strolled through the library, browsing through the titles to pass her time while Harry looked for something to read.

"Is it any good?" Harry asked.

"Moody thinks so. I haven't read it myself." Tonks replied.

"Toss me that one, would you?" Harry requested and Tonks apparently did as he requested.

Literally.

"Ow!" Harry cried out as the volume struck him in the head as it came flying at him over a shelf.

"Sorry!" Tonks chirped.

"Yeah..." Harry muttered under his breath, then came to a stop as he spotted something that sounded interesting. /Blood Wards - A comprehensive guide to warding and breaking by Xavier Blockhurst.../ he thought and slowly removed the book from amongst its companions. He fingered it for a few moments, then added it to the small pile he'd already accumulated. He looked at the backs of them for a few moments.

Blood Wards, so he could find out more about the reason he had to stay with the ruddy Dursley's.

Moody's favourite, because anything he lauded with praise had to be worth a read.

Beyond the Shroud, about speaking to the dead. Perhaps it would be possible to contact his parents and Sirius, even if they were dead.

Hogwarts, a history. If only so he could shock the hell out of Hermione when he told her that he'd actually read it after all this time.

Travelling light, about Wizarding transportation. If he was lucky, it might contain some trick that would make going somewhere by Floo or Portkey less of a bother for him. After all, most everybody else seemed able to stay on their feet when using them.

After some additional browsing through the shelves, he also added 'By the law, outside the law' by Rincewind Fletcher. A book about legal loopholes and shortcuts that while frowned upon, were entirely legal. Probably boring as hell, but after spotting on the back that it contained two whole chapters on Hogwarts rules and how to circumvent them without breaking them, he instantly added it to the pile. Considering how things at school usually worked out, he guessed that such a thing might just be extremely handy to have studied.

"I think I have enough to tide me over for a while now." he announced to the room and headed for the exit.

"Okay!" Tonks shouted back and a few moments later, emerged out from between two shelves. "Here, let me check what you got. Some of the stuff in here..." she said and finished with a repulsed shudder as she considered some of the titles she had seen in here. "Wards, boring. Duelling, might be fun. Hog-history, boring. Travelling, boring. Beyond the shroud? Here, let me see that." Tonks requested and grabbed the book in question, looking it over and hastily browsing through a couple of pages.

"OOoookay... You sure you want this?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"This particular branch of Necromancy isn't classified as a Dark Art. But many think that it is borderline Dark none-the-less. If people find out that you're studying it, it could cause problems." Tonks replied.

"Who would find out? The only ones who know that I have it are me and you." Harry retorted.

"All rightie. Have it your way then. Just don't go practising something from it in the middle of Diagon Alley, y'know?" Tonks said and handed the book back to him. "What's this last one? ... ... ... Okay, I did so not see that one! And if you know what's good for you, you had better never ever mention that you've read it or that I saw you with it either! Do not show it to anybody, not even your closest friends."

"Is it illegal?" Harry asked.

"What is in it? Nope. But it would be if somebody could come up with a way to outlaw it. But as all it does is point out shortcomings in our legal system, there's nothing really illegal about it. But it has been placed on the restricted list, only top Ministry officials and high-ranking Aurors are supposed to have access to it." Tonks replied. "The Ministry is supposed to have purchased and destroyed all of them back in 1975 when it was put on the restricted list, except for a few copies locked up at the Ministry library. Dunno how this one survived the purge."

"Oh, okay." Harry replied, deciding that he'd read that one first. If the Ministry was so gung-ho against common people having it, it had to contain something really interesting.

"Are you good to go?" she asked.

"All done." Harry agreed and patted the books.

"All rightie, then we'll Floo over to Arabella's and walk from there." Tonks announced and linked her arm with his again, pulling him along towards the Floo.

* * *

Narcissa quietly entered the room she had been assigned and slowly closed the door behind her. She looked around and wrinkled her nose at the miserable living quarters that were hers. She pulled out her wand and with the quick application of a few just barely remembered household charms, cleaned it up. She felt the Black Wards trying to prevent her from doing so, subduing her magic, but after recognizing the blood flowing in her veins, the Charms worked like... Well, a charm.

She pulled out a tiny trunk from her purse and returned it to its former size, opening it and unpacking what few belongings she had managed to throw down into it before leaving the Malfoy manor. When it was empty, she shrunk it again and put the trunk away. She looked around the room one final time, then headed for the bed upon which she managed to sit herself down, before her stern facade crumbled like it had never even been there in the first place.

Draco's hastily arranged burial had been mundane and unremarkable, not at all befitting the Heir of the Malfoy family. But in retrospect, she was glad that it had been a small affair as she didn't believe that she would have been able to handle a larger one. She, Nymphadora, Hestia Jones, two other Order members and the priest had been the only ones there.

Tears were streaming down her face as she cast privacy and silencing spells, before her wand simply slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. She buried her face in her hands and screamed, grief and sadness finally overwhelming her ability to keep it hidden beneath the surface.

Lucius deserved none of her tears and received none, but Draco... Poor Draco...

She screamed again as she wondered just where she had gone wrong. She though she had raised him better, but it had been rather obvious for the last few years that she hadn't quite gotten through to him. She had been disappointed when Lucius swore himself in as one of Lord Voldemorts Death Eaters. He was a Malfoy, one of the most powerful Wizarding families in all of Europe. And he'd squandered all that potential away by becoming a follower instead of a leader.

If he'd only had the guts to get rid of the Dark Lord and take over his place, she could have understood his decision. But instead of doing just that, he'd been content to take orders from that demented twisted freak, demeaning himself and dragging the once so proud Malfoy name down along with him. Every time she saw him sucking up to the Dark Lord, bending to his will and demeaning himself before the Dark Lord, she'd felt disgusted at his behaviour.

But when Draco announced his desire to do the same, she'd finally realized that he was irrevocably lost as well. Weak, they were both weak! She had been a Black and she was a Malfoy now, she'd bend for nobody and she certainly wouldn't be kneeling in front of any shoddy Dark Lord like she had seen Lucius do!

/Which is probably the reason why the Dark Lord wanted me dead./ she reasoned as her tears kept flowing down her cheeks. /I know too much and yet refuse to join. With my loyalty in doubt, no doubt Draco's was questioned as well, hence the reason why he was sent to kill me. The Dark Lord wanted to know that Draco's devotion to him was unquestionable./

She twisted around and lay down on her stomach, clenching her fists and beating them into the pillows on the bed, another pained grief-riddled scream emerging from her lips.

First, he'd taken the proud and potential-riddled husband she'd married from her, then her sister had become one of his wretched followers and now he'd taken her son as well.

"Damn you, Voldemort!" she shouted into her pillow. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you, you thieving bastard! You've taken everything I've ever loved from me!" she shrieked and flew out of the bed, throwing one of the pillows across the room. "Yes, you'll come to regret the day you made an enemy out of Narcissa Malfoy..." she muttered under her breath as she started to pace the room.

Had he left her and her family alone, she would have been willing to assist and co-exist alongside with him. But after ruining her life and robbed her of her loved ones like this, she was no longer willing to do so. She was by far more sympathetic to the Dark Lords cause then that of Dumbledore and his Order. Death Eater or not, she would have stood alongside them against the Order if the push had come to shove. But now...

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend!" she growled and wiped tears away from her eyes, though this didn't prevent new ones from emerging. She'd do like Dumbledore had suggested and join the Order of the Phoenix. She'd join the struggle against the Dark Lord and by Merlin, she'd give the Order her all in order to avenge her family.

For now...

With the resources of the Malfoy family behind her, branching out on her own after some preparations wasn't all that impossible. She'd make Lord Voldemort realize just how big a mistake he'd made when he turned against her, she'd show him that what he needed to fear wasn't some goodie-goodie just-nearly-shy-of-fossilised-Dumbledore or some innocent just-barely-dry-behind-the-ears-boy-who-lived.

No, she'd teach him to fear Lady Narcissa Malfoy instead.

* * *

"All right, I call this impromptu meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to order." Dumbledore rumbled from his seat at the head of the table, causing everybody around the room to wrap up their conversations and join those already seated around the table. "The Order of the Phoenix first order of business on this evening is to welcome a new member to our illustrious order, as well as inform everybody that Lord Voldemorts Inner Circle have suffered a major blow and lost one of its most illustrious members to the horrifying Killing Curse." Dumbledore continued, accompanied by a few mouths quirking into faint smiles as he used 'order' three times in a single sentence and gasps at the news that one of the Inner Circle had died. "Please enter, Narcissa." he called towards the door and as the door opened, Narcissa Malfoy strode into the room accompanied by gasps, shocked exclamations and Mundungus Fletcher leaping backwards out of his chair when people recognized her.

She nodded towards the middle of the room, but didn't say anything as she regally strode over to one of the free seats and took a place between Alastor Moody and Hestia Jones. She primly adjusted her dress and nodded in recognition at Hestia, who had assisted her with, and accompanied her to, Draco's burial after her meeting with Dumbledore, before she neutrally gazed out over the gathering before her.

"Greetings, one and all." was all she said, before she leaned back in her seat and observed the chaos erupt without batting an eye.

She had after all told Dumbledore what to expect and that it was a badly thought out idea to introduce her to the Order like this, but after he had tried to assure her that it would be all right, she'd merely given in and decided to let him handle the situation despite knowing better herself.

When things finally calmed down some, Dumbledore explained how she had come to him after Lucius and Draco killed each other, how she was now on the Dark Lords shitlist and thus had agreed to join the Order to fight the Dark Lord with them.

She rolled her eyes, but kept her peace none the less.

"You got a problem with Albus's retelling of events?" Mad-Eye suddenly asked from out of the blue, which caused the room to fall silent and every eye to turn towards her.

"Not really, Mr Moody. It's a mostly correct account of events, if not entirely true in parts." Narcissa replied.

"Oh?" was all Mad-Eye said in response to that, though his curious expression betrayed his interest in her story.

"I didn't come to Mr Dumbledore, I was perfectly content to remain with my son and await the end of my life. Potter forced me to come here." Narcissa sniffed. "Other then that, I've got no issues with what Mr Dumbledore said." she added.

"Harry? Why did Harry bring you?" Mrs Weasley asked with a baffled expression, clearly surprised that Harry would have anything to do with a Malfoy. Arthur hadn't spoken well of either of the Malfoys, though Narcissa was only rarely mentioned as he was mostly concerned with Lucius. Her children didn't speak well of Draco or Lucius either, but Narcissa was hardly ever mentioned by them either. Molly herself faintly recalled Narcissa from her time at Hogwarts, but only from a distance as she was five years younger and from a different house. So she really didn't know the woman all that well, but anyone associated with the name Malfoy couldn't possibly be someone that Harry should be around!

"From what he told me, he found out through his connection with the Dark Lord that my son had been ordered to kill me as part of his Death Eater initiation. Potter had issues with that and apparently decided to prevent such a thing from happening after not being able to communicate with his Order guard for some reason." Narcissa replied, her eyes narrowing as Mundungus shifted uncomfortably in his seat which he'd just barely reseated himself in after being scared out of his seat.

/Figures.../ she mentally snorted. She well recalled the man as the unreliable slob who'd sold them so much crap over the years, claiming it to be powerful dark artefacts. Some of them really were, but far from everything. The last time he'd come by the manor, Lucius had been away and Narcissa had examined everything herself. After failing to find a single genuine artefact amongst Fletchers crap, she'd drawn her wand and chased him out of the manor, nasty although still legal Curses being sent after him. Judging from how terrified he was of her now, he apparently well remembered that.

"Mundungus! Did you abandon your duty again?!" Molly yelled angrily, her eyes shooting daggers at Dung who seemed to shrink back even further in his seat as the Weasley matriarch turned her angry attention at him.

"I was..." Dung attempted to explain.

"You didn't!" Tonks gasped.

"I had to..." Fletcher tried again.

"Didn't you learn anything last time?" Arthur Weasley demanded furiously.

"I..." Mundungus tried to interject, but just lifted his hands up in surrender and ceased his attempts to explain as Molly started to rant about irresponsible behaviour and how he should know better then just abandon Harry like that.

"Why does Potter even have an Order guard to begin with?" Narcissa asked, her stern, firm and aristocratic voice cutting through the loud tirade like a hot knife through butter, causing Molly's mouth to shut with an audible snap in mid-rant.

"He is of utmost importance in the struggle against Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore replied, ignoring the outbreak of gasps and shocked exclamations that erupted when he used the Dark Lords self-proclaimed name.

"Oh? Then who's watching him now?" Narcissa asked, looking around the crowded room.

"Uhm... Nobody." Tonks piped up after a few moments of embarrassed silence.

"Ah. So he could be trying to contact the Order right now about something important, but there's no way of knowing because while he is watched, he isn't right now? Smashing." Narcissa commented and then leaned back in her seat. "If he's connected to the Dark Lord, why isn't he here? Couldn't he offer some insight into what the man is up to?"

"Harry is just a child!" Molly protested.

"He will be given the opportunity to join the Order once he becomes of age." Dumbledore continued.

"We just don't want to put him in any danger." Hestia added.

"Danger? Like by say, abandoning him when you have your meetings when anything at all could happen without you guys knowing about it?" Narcissa countered. "If that is the case and he is as important as you say he is, then I want to add something to this meetings agenda. Either having him permanently guarded or bring him along to these meetings if everybody here absolutely has to attend." she said while moving her gaze across the people gathered there. "If something is worth doing, its worth doing right." she firmly added.

"The lass is right." Moody rumbled from his seat. "We've bungled this for far too long."

"I'm sure everything is all right." Dumbledore protested mildly.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. The lass is right, Potter could be lying in a pool of his own blood now and we'd never know it." Moody argued as the door opened. "Constant vigilance!" he added in a half-yell for good measure, as Severus Snape strode into the room, his black robes billowing out behind him.

"I'm late." was all he said at first as he regally moved into the meeting. "I was otherwise deta..." he started to explain his absence when he suddenly fell silent, his eyes widening and his expression slowly becoming horrified as his gaze locked onto Narcissa, who looked similarly surprised to see him. "Mrs Malfoy!" he exclaimed, his expression shifting between pleased at seeing her to horrified at seeing her.

"Severus!" she blurted out and jerkily rose from her seat. "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know, her eyes rolling as he struggled between fear and the ridiculous crush on her he'd had for several years now.

"Mrs Malfoy, I... I..." he stuttered in astonished shock, before he blinked and his expression suddenly turned panicked as he looked out over the gathering. He yanked out his wand and aimed it at Narcissa. "Avada Kedavra!" he shouted with a grief-struck expression as the sickly green beam shot out towards Narcissa, who dove to the floor and covered behind the table.

"Stupefy!" Mad-Eye cried out as the sickly green killing curse shot past him, as Narcissa had been standing very close to him when Severus cast it.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Tonks mirrored him.

"Gnck!" was all Snape had time for, before he toppled unconscious and bound to the ground, as the rest of the Order fumbled to get their wands out, only to wind up staring out over a situation already resolved.

"Are you people mad?! What are you doing letting an Inner Circle Death Eater in here?! When I didn't see him around before, I assumed that you'd finally wised up and realized that he was betraying you all to the Dark Lord!" Narcissa snapped as she got back onto her feet. "He's probably been giving away your every move and only letting you in on the most worthless facts about the Dark Lords activities in return, only telling you about the big stuff once it's too late for you to do anything about it! Fools! Sentimental simpering useless fools!" Narcissa ranted as she brushed dirt off her formerly speckless dress. "Hellfire and brimstone! As a spy he shouldn't have been let into your meetings in the first place! Who in Merlins name is stupid enough to let a spy know more about your activities then he absolutely have to! Even if he hadn't been a traitor, he could have been caught and interrogated about your activities!"

"Severus assures me that he is on our side." Dumbledore argued mildly.

"Merlins Beard and Morganas Toenails! For crying out loud, people!" Narcissa sighed and shook her head in disgust, then fell silent, closed her eyes and everybody could see her counting to ten under her breath. When she was finished, she seemed to have gotten over the shock of nearly being killed and was quite a bit calmer. "Put him on Veritaserum before taking such utter ridiculous statements as irrefutable facts." she strongly suggested. "No wonder that the Dark Lord doesn't take the Order as a serious threat. All he's concerned about is Potter this or Potter that, occasionally Dumbledore that. Now I see why! Potter's the only one of you who has his head put on straight and actually does something useful." she venomously added.

"While on the topic of Veritaserum and ensuring the claims of suspicious people..." Mad-Eye hinted.

"Write down a list of what you want to ask me first and give me your word that only those questions will be asked and I'll gladly take the serum." Narcissa replied without hesitation.

"Constant vigilance..." Mad-Eye muttered approvingly, then turned his attention to Snape. "All right, Albus. We've taken your word for Snape's loyalty for long enough and now we've all seen just how bad a decision that was. It's time to put him under and see if what he claims holds any water under Veritaserum." he said and rubbed his hands together as he looked at the unconscious Potions Professor, the other people around the table unconsciously leaning away from the former Auror after seeing the terrifying expression on his face and the dangerous gleam in his eyes...

The End! ( For now... )


	3. Two

Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: The amazing redemptionman Fumblebore has done it again, recruited yet another dubious person to the Light and inducted them into the Order of the Phoenix. But Narcissa Malfoy is not a woman to be taken lightly and doesn't suffer fools easily. She has plans of her own, plans that could prove disasterous for the Order... And Harry Potter, Champion of the Light...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.  
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something. ... Whenever I get around to uploading it there. :)

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Merry XXX-mas!

This was released as one part of my smutty XXX-mas 2006 event, when I made a bunch of shit available at The Fanfiction Forum, ff dot net and fan-fics-r-us. Not all of it was smut, but most of it was at the very least naughty. What and where shit was released, is found here below:

FMP - Unbecoming Conduct Chapter 1 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
HnG - The Scoundrel of Go Chapter 4 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
HP - Black Heir Chapter 2 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
HP - Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks Chapter 2 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
HP - Nymph in servitude Chapter 4 ( TFF, PP3+HaT Yahoo Groups, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
C Naruto - Master Nin Chapter 4 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
Naruto - Master Nin Chapter 5 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
NGE - A Night with Misato ( fan-fics-r-us for XXX-mas, it had already been available on TFF for quite some time. )  
NGE - A Morning with Misato ( TFF for XXX-mas, fan-fics-r-us sometime after XXX-mas. )  
Ranma ½ - Urd Muyo Chapter 1 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
Vandread - Robinson Tokai Chapter 6 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )

And a naughty new year!

Previously, on 'Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks'

"Severus assures me that he is on our side." Dumbledore argued mildly.

"Merlins Beard and Morganas Toenails! For crying out loud, people!" Narcissa sighed and shook her head in disgust, then fell silent, closed her eyes and everybody could see her counting to ten under her breath. When she was finished, she seemed to have gotten over the shock of nearly being killed and was quite a bit calmer. "Put him on Veritaserum before taking such utter ridiculous statements as irrefutable facts." she strongly suggested. "No wonder that the Dark Lord doesn't take the Order as a serious threat. All he's concerned about is Potter this or Potter that, occasionally Dumbledore that. Now I see why! Potter's the only one of you who has his head put on straight and actually does something useful." she venomously added.

"While on the topic of Veritaserum and ensuring the claims of suspicious people..." Mad-Eye hinted.

"Write down a list of what you want to ask me first and give me your word that only those questions will be asked and I'll gladly take the serum." Narcissa replied without hesitation.

"Constant vigilance..." Mad-Eye muttered approvingly, then turned his attention to Snape. "All right, Albus. We've taken your word for Snape's loyalty for long enough and now we've all seen just how bad a decision that was. It's time to put him under and see if what he claims holds any water under Veritaserum." he said and rubbed his hands together as he looked at the unconscious Potions Professor, the other people around the table unconsciously leaning away from the former Auror after seeing the terrifying expression on his face and the dangerous gleam in his eyes...

Roll credits

* * *

Chapter Two:

"So, awake are we?" a gruff voice inquired and Severus Snape opened his eyes, a move that he instantly regretted.

He had seen a lot, done a lot, over the years. Both as he first became a Death Eater, before that and after that. He had stared death in the eye more times then he'd cared to keep track of. He'd unearthed decaying bodies to harvest potion ingredients. He had dissected the nastiest creatures imaginable. He'd been exposed to more Dark Magic then most people even knew existed. He'd stood face-to-face with Lord Voldemort at the height of his power. He'd killed in cold blood, he had tortured innocents and he had once assisted in giving birth to a baby as a proper Healer had failed to arrive on time.

But nothing had quite prepared him for waking up to Mad-Eye Moody's grinning face just inches away from his own.

Though nobody else in the room mentioned anything out loud, they had to admit to themselves that they were impressed that Snape hadn't screamed like a girl when he opened his eyes. He'd merely let out a muted gasp before calming down again.

Mad-Eye seemed oddly disappointed at the lack of reaction and pulled back to a reasonable distance, hobbling backwards on his fake leg until he was leaning against the table. Snape's eyes hastily darted across the room and analyzed the situation.

He was seated on a high-backed chair about two meters away from the table. Everything below his neck was petrified. His wands were missing and the entire Order of the Phoenix was staring at him. He worked his tongue around in his mouth for a few moments and suppressed the urge to snarl as he recognized the faint aftertaste of Veritaserum.

/Interrogation then.../ he reasoned and mentally cursed himself for overreacting like he had. Sure, the presence of Narcissa Malfoy amongst the Order of the Phoenix could be potentially disastrous for him, considering what the woman knew. But if he'd only acted calmly and behaved as usual, he could have found out what she was after and just how bad it was for him that she was there.

But no, he had to overreact just like the bumbling reckless child he occasionally accused Draco of being.

And to cast an Unforgivable to boot! Any curse would have been bad, of course. But the Killing Curse?

/Yes, great work there, Severus.../ he mentally berated himself.

"Yes, I'm awake." was all he said out loud, however.

"What was your favourite toy as a child?" Mad-Eye suddenly asked and Severus felt the familiar stirrings in the back of his head as he tried to suppress or lie, only to have the potion overrule his conscious mind. /Masterful brew, probably one of mine./ he absently thought. If it had been brewed by a lesser man, perhaps he could have fought against and at least kept silent, even if it probably would have been impossible to outright lie.

"It changed from time to time, but the first I can remember was a model dragon that could breathe fire. Though I was told that the very first was a blue blanket which I never departed the crib without." he replied and mentally groaned as he saw people suppressing snickers and chuckles at his expense.

"I'd say the potion is working, all right." Mad-Eye approved with a wry grin. "So, professor. Why did you try to kill Mrs Malfoy?" he instantly demanded to know.

"I panicked when I saw her and overreacted." Severus replied after yet another useless attempt to keep that particular answer unvoiced.

"Why did you panic?" Alastor asked.

"She knows too much." Severus answered honestly.

"What does she know that you wanted to prevent her from telling us?" was the instant counter.

"She knows that I've been withholding information, that I've been on Death Eater raids I didn't actually have to participate in and that I never even tried to teach the Potter brat Occlumency." Severus replied, which caused Dumbledore to gasp in horrified shock.

"Okay. Let's begin with the information. What sort of information have you been withholding?" Moody asked.

"Some of the plans and movements of the Dark Lords Death Eaters, mainly. But also some of the plans the Dark Lord hasn't seen fit to keep secret. For instance, I knew very well that he was using his mental connection to Potter in order to arrange for the Ministry of Magic incident. In fact, I was helping that one along by raping the little pests mind, deepening his connection to the Dark Lord instead of blocking it off." Severus revealed, accompanied by another gasp from Dumbledore and an additional trio from Molly, Arthur and Tonks.

"What about the raids?" Alastor inquired.

"I've participated in more of them then I've told Dumbledore about. Some of them I knew of well ahead of time." Severus answered after a brief pause, though he still found himself unable to keep silent. /I really outdid myself with this particular brew.../ he thought absently.

"You mentioned raping Potters mind. I'm assuming this is what you did in lieu of teaching him Occlumency?" Moody demanded to know.

"Indeed." Severus replied.

"Why?"

"Because the Dark Lord knew that I had been assigned to teach him. If I'd actually gone ahead and done it, he would have assumed that I was betraying him." was the simple response. "That and the fact that I hate Potter with every fibre of my being. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have slit his throat and harvested his remains for potion ingredients during his first Potions class." he added, causing a round of gasps from around the table and Dumbledore's expression to shift to a curious blend between outrage, disappointment and shock.

"Who's side are you really on, Severus?" Moody asked. "Voldemorts or ours?"

"Neither. I'm looking out for number one, namely myself." Severus replied. "I'm letting the Dark Lord know about enough of the Orders activities to remain in his good graces and I'm letting Dumbledore know enough about the Dark Lords activities to remain in his good graces."

"What are your plans then? You can't have been planning to go on like this forever, I assume?" Alastor inquired.

"I've always put my support more on the side that appeared to be winning at the time, then the other. At times, I've been more helpful to the Dark Lord then the Order. Other times, it's the other way around." Severus explained. "The moment one side appeared to have the victory firmly in hand, I would have supported it entirely, completely abandoning the other. Either way, I would have been on the winning side, whichever one that would have been."

"At the moment, you've mainly supported Voldemort, I assume?" Moody asked for clarification.

"Yes. Ever since he regained his body, he's had the upper hand. Even more so now." Severus replied.

"Why is that?" Moody instantly asked.

"He's well on his way to uniting the vampire clans under his banner. The werewolves are still debating the issue, but they're itching to throw off the last century's worth of Wizarding oppression and while many of them distrust the Dark Lord's goals and intentions towards them, they're even more distrustful of the oppressive Ministry of Magic. The giants are already mustering their forces, preparing to join the fight on the Dark Lords side. Just last week, he also made contact with the Summoners of Gar'taith, who've expressed willingness and even a certain eagerness to negotiate terms for their support." Severus replied. "Before long, he will be ready to make his move and at that time, precious few will want to stand in his way."

"The Summoners of what?" Hestia Jones suddenly spoke up with a confused expression.

"Yeah, who are they? I've never heard about them before." Tonks interjected.

"I'm not surprised. They're an obscure cult of demonologists." Moody replied with a grunt. "I doubt that there's more then five or six of them in the country, if that. Isn't that right, Severus?"

"That was correct up until last week." Snape countered. "Their practises have been severely hampered by several Ministry decrees and laws over the last five decades. While they don't exactly support the Dark Lords other goals, they have just as large an interest in seeing the Ministry fall as the Dark Lord and are willing to offer their support, if only temporarily and probably only in cases where their assistance would prove detrimental to the Ministry of Magic. Many of them have left for more open-minded countries over the years, but a small group still remains in a secret community in Cornwall and many more are prepared to return home to fight for their cause."

"What sort of threat do they pose, though? There hasn't been a truly successful Summoning since the reign of Grindewald." Alastor commented.

"Not within British borders, no." Severus agreed. "To Summon anything but minor Imps, Incubi and Succubi would require large rituals with ten or more Summoners working in concert and there just haven't been that many of them in Britain for the last thirty or so years. But last week, fifteen cultists arrived from Germany and eleven more will arrive from various other parts of Europe over the coming week. That will be enough to pull off larger Summonings then the Wizarding world has seen in the last three or four hundred years." he added.

"That could be nasty." Moody grunted and scratched his left ribcage. "Demons are no joke... No bloody joke."

"Are they really that powerful?" Mundungus asked with a worried expression.

"Yes. The more powerful ones are also able to bypass most Wards, which could be devastatingly effective against places like Hogwarts, The Ministry of Magic and Azkaban, all of which rely mostly on powerful Wards for protection." Severus replied, though the question hadn't really been asked of him, but more to the room in general. "The Summoners likely wouldn't assist in an assault on Hogwarts unless a large gathering of Ministry officials were there, but they would probably view the Ministry and Azkaban as acceptable targets." he added. "I suggested for the Dark Lord to send them to deal with Potter as proof of their willingness to assist, but I do not yet know if they accepted or not."

"Tonks, Jones, Shacklebolt. Go get Potter. Now!" Moody snapped.

"Told you so..." Narcissa sighed with a rueful shake of her head.

* * *

"Harry!" Tonks exclaimed with relief as she appeared with a loud 'pop' of displaced air, causing Harry to twirl around on the spot, dropping the book he was holding as he fumbled for his wand.

+Pop+

+Pop+

"Prove who you are!" Harry snapped as he moved the wand between the three who'd just Apparated into his room at number four. Tonks rapidly went through a number of differently coloured, shaped and lengthed hairstyles, which seemed to be sufficient, as Harry lowered his wand. "Blimey. Don't scare me like that! What do you want?" he asked as he bent down to retrieve the book from the floor, though he still kept the wand out and ready to be used.

"You-know-who may have demon Summoners working for him now and Wards doesn't..." Kingsley started to explain.

"Work well against some demons. Yeah, I know." Harry interrupted and turned the book he'd just picked up from the ground around, displaying the cover to the newly arrived trio. "The Blood Wards here might hold up against a demon, though I don't know for how long." he added.

"Get your things, Mr Potter. We're taking you to safety." Hestia ordered.

"Stay. Go. I wish you guys would make up your minds." Harry sighed, but moved over to his school trunk and started packing.

"Well, aren't you Mr Perky-pants." Tonks teased with a small grin. "I figured that you'd be happy to blow this joint."

"I am. But I would have been happier if I hadn't been forced into coming here against my will in the first place." Harry retorted.

"It was for your own protection, Potter." Kingsley commented.

"Which of course excuses the fact that I'm basically being kept as a prisoner here against my will. Right?" Harry snorted as he approached Hedwig's cage. "Hey, girl. I'm heading for headquarters, I guess. Do you want to come with or fly there on your own?" he asked and Hedwig crawled out of the open cage in response, giving his right index finger a brief nip before she leap off for the window, where she waited for Harry to open it for her, before she left with a brief hoot.

Harry packed the rest of the stuff he wanted to bring in silence, then closed the trunk and turned to face his three visitors.

"Well, now what?" he sighed tiredly.

"I'll make a Portkey. Tonks, get the trunk." Kingsley replied and picked up a broken controller to one of the many gaming consoles Dudley had gotten over the years, tapping it with his wand as he murmured under his breath. Tonks gave Kingsley a mock salute, before she shrunk the trunk and levitated it over, putting it into one of the pockets of the ragged and torn jeans she was wearing. "Everybody grab on to this." Kingsley ordered and held the controller out in front of him. "Phoenix." he simply uttered once everybody was holding on, which triggered the now nearly familiar sensation of Portkey travel to Harry and caused all four of them to disappear from the cluttered room at number four Privet Drive.

* * *

"Good, you're safe." Moody announced as the three Order members popped back into the meeting with Harry, Harry tripping and falling to the ground with a pained grunt, Tonks managing to stay on her feet for a second longer, before she too joined him on the floor.

"Somewhat." Harry grunted as he pushed himself off the ground, brushing his pants off before he looked up, only to break out into a smile as he spotted Snape tied to a chair. "What's this? Have you finally seen this asshole for what he really is?" he asked with a nod in Snape's direction. "About time!"

"Harry, my dear boy. I'm afraid that I've made a grave mistake in appointing Severus as your teacher in the mental arts and for that, I'm truly sorry." Dumbledore spoke up with a contrite expression.

"No, really?!" Harry mockingly exclaimed with a fake shocked expression. "Why, I could have told you that after the first lesson with him. And I'm not talking about my first Occlumency lesson either! That prat never should have been a teacher in the first place and as for having him teaching me one-on-one, that's so ridiculously absurd that it boggles the mind. In Potions, there are at the very least witnesses around that tempers him. ... Somewhat."

"I am sorry." Dumbledore repeated. "I had no idea. And no excuse. I should have known and I didn't. For that, I am sorry. Truly sorry. I hope that you can forgive an old man for this mistake."

"If it had been just that one mistake, sure. That, I could forgive. As one in a long and seemingly never-ending line of them? No way." Harry retorted, causing Dumbledore to flinch and seem even more contrite then before.

"Harry! That's no way to address the headmaster. If you were having problems, you should have come to an adult for help." Molly protested.

"Come to an adult? No thanks, considering the lack of positive results that has brought me over the years, I've finally realized that it's time to learn how to deal with matters on my own." Harry replied.

"Mr Potter! You are in no way capable of handling matters on your own, which the recent disaster at the Ministry of Magic clearly shows." McGonagall protested.

"Well, neither are you adults, from what I can see." Harry countered angrily.

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "Apologise to Minerva for your rudeness right now." she insisted.

"When me, Ron and Hermione went to Professor McGonagall to tell her that the Philosophers Stone was in danger of being stolen, she simply dismissed our concerns. The stone was in danger of being stolen, just not by the one we suspected. We had to prevent this from happening on our own because of that and I had to face both Voldemort and our DADA professor in the process." Harry started, taking a bit of satisfaction in how most people in the room flinched when he said Voldemort. "When I told Headmaster Dumbledore that I was being abused by the Dursley's, he simply dismissed me and sent me back, which he has done every year since my first. This has led me to being insulted, beaten, forced to do an amount of chores that no child is allowed to do under British laws and left me with scars that still linger today." he continued and pulled back the sleeve of his overly large shirt, revealing ugly scars on both his arms that made the people in the room gasp in shock.

"When me and Ron went to Lockheart for help, he wound up trying to Obliviate us when he didn't succeed in just running with his tail between his legs. This led to me being bit by a Basilisk and having to face Voldemort's memories." he added and pointed out the scar from the Basilisk. "When I went to McGonagall to reveal that students were being tortured with a Blood Quill by Umbridge, she just told me to bear with it. I still have scars from that too, as might other students as well I guess, as I wasn't the only one being kept in 'detention' by her." he added and held up his hand, displaying the scarring he had there from repeated use of the Blood Quill.

"When I tried to tell Snape about Sirius at the Ministry of Magic, he didn't do anything about it. When I tried with Dumbledore, he refused to see me. So, I wound up having to go to the Ministry of Magic and face Voldemort yet again, which I would have known was a foolish move if someone had just bothered to tell me about the prophecy. I wouldn't even have had to been told about the contents about the prophecy, just that Voldemort wanted it and needed me to get it for him." Harry stated gravely and shook his head. "That is what has happened whenever I've tried to go to adults for help. Abuse, torture, attempted mind-rape or being dismissed because I'm supposedly too young to 'understand' what is going on. So, why exactly should I go to adults for help, when that has just served to worsen every single problem I've ever had that I've tried to get help with?" he finished, glaring at everybody around the table.

"You... You and others were... Being tortured?" McGonagall asked with a horrified expression and a complexion even paler then Snape's usually was.

"Yes, but you didn't even care to really hear me out when I tried to tell you. You just dismissed me. Just like when the Philosophers Stone was about to be stolen." Harry agreed, which caused Minerva to flinch guiltily.

"You... You were being abused at home, truly?" Dumbledore asked with a dumb-struck expression.

"Yes, but you just thought I was whining and never bothered to check it out, didn't you?" Harry agreed with a venomous tone of voice and a hateful expression. "Not to mention that it's your fault that I was placed there to begin with! If you were deliberately trying to make my upbringing as similar to Voldemorts as possible, you did a great job! Just like you did with Tom Riddle. Though why you would want to create another Dark Lord through your foolish actions, I do not know. But you've probably done more to meld me into his equal then Voldemort ever has. Are you enjoying your position and reputation as the leader of the Light so much, that you deliberately try to create Dark Lords for you to stand against after Grindewald was defeated? If so, then smashing job, Headmaster! You succeeded marvellously with Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort and you nearly succeeded with me as well while making yourself look good and infallible in the process." he finished, as Dumbledore shirked back from Harry and sunk lower in his seat, a completely defeated expression on his face and tears streaming down his bearded cheeks.

"Heh. No wonder that Voldemort doesn't view the Order as a threat." Narcissa commented with a smile. "Good show, though. This is even better entertainment then an evening at the theatre." she added and mockingly clapped her hands.

"Quiet! You aren't helping!" Molly suddenly snapped, wiping tears from her eyes and trying to maintain a stern expression, which was a loosing struggle after Harry had let them know about his life, which had apparently been even more horrifying then she had ever imagined.

"Neither are or have you guys been, from what I can see and have heard. Letting traitors into your midst, assisting in the life-long abuse of an innocent boy... Yeah, smashing work everyone." Narcissa commented. "Like I said earlier, Potter is apparently the only one of you with a functional brain."

"Why, thank you, Mrs Malfoy." Harry replied with a terse smile.

"Have a seat, Potter. You've earned it." Moody grunted and held up a grizzled hand in the direction of the Weasley matriarch and patriarch as it appeared that they were about to protest against it. "If you haven't stood eye-to-eye with you-know-who himself, you're not allowed to argue that decision. And if Albus does, I'm just going to ignore him due to past poor judgement in regards to Potter. That leaves me, Shacklebolt, Tonks, Snape, Malfoy and Potter himself. Snape isn't allowed a part in this decision and if Shacklebolt or Tonks argues, I'm overruling them."

"Don't look at me, I wanted to have him here from the start." Narcissa commented with a shrug.

"I'm staying." Harry decided as Moody looked over at him, then took one of the free seats.

"Good. Then let's get on with this without further interruptions." Moody grunted and turned his attention back to Snape. "The vampire clans. You say they're on his side?"

"Eleven out of the seventeen are. The other six are still debating the issue." Snape replied.

"Nasty, but it's really only a threat against the Muggles. Wards against vampires coupled with sunlight charms will render most Wizarding abodes safe from them." Moody snarled while Narcissa mumbled an almost cheerful 'good riddance, Muggles' under her breath. "What about the werewolves and why hasn't Lupin heard anything about it?"

"After I reminded the Dark Lord that Lupin was one of them and part of this order, he let his emissaries spread the word that Lupin was working for Dumbledore and the Ministry. That didn't go well over with the rest of them, who apparently has put a price on the 'traitors' head for siding with the Ministry. None of the Tribes have given a definitive answer, but two or three out of the five in the country are likely to respond positively as a whole. Minor groups of them have already joined up, but it's currently less then fifty individuals." Snape replied.

"Fifty?! Oh, shit..." Hestia mumbled and broke out into a faint shudder.

"Shit is right. Those will be a bugger to deal with." Tonks agreed, one of the few in the room who'd actually had to stand up against a werewolf in a real fight.

"Not necessarily." Narcissa commented and put two slender fingers into her cleavage, from which she extracted two metal spikes that had been tucked into holsters she had ordered sewn into her brassiere when she ordered it. She held them up for the entire room to see and offered a faint smile. "Make sure to carry silver spikes with you at all times and banish them at any werewolf foolish enough to cross your path. Enchant them with a shield-breaker and you're almost guaranteed to take out whatever werewolf you're targeting as long as you have somewhat decent aim, even if they have magical protection of some sort."

"But, Enchanting silver is almost as hard to do as gold or platinum. It can take weeks even for an accomplished Enchanter to do a single item." Flitwick piped up from his cushioned seat. "Me and Minerva are arguably the most accomplished Enchanters in the country at the moment, but even if we worked in concert, it'll take at least a week to do a single one."

"Which is why these are hollowed and have a core of poison-soaked willow." Narcissa replied with a proud grin. "Which means that they work just as good against vampires as werewolves and due to the wood core, Enchanting them is the work of but a moment." she declared as Flitwick leaned back against the backrest with a stunned expression, before he broke out into a pleased laugh.

"Brilliant, Narcissa! You always were one of my most gifted students!" he approved, while Fred and George were whispering urgently between each other, apparently having their creativity sparked by being offered a simpler and much quicker way to enchant objects made out of noble metals, as long as they weren't completely made out of noble metals.

"Why were you carrying those?" Hestia inquired as she looked curiously at the sharpened silvery rods, nodding to herself as she saw that the foremost tip wasn't silvery, but had a more dull wooden surface. Silver against werewolves, wooden stake against vampires and for everything else, the sharpened rod no matter the material would most likely do the trick. And if not, the poison would most assuredly finish the job. She turned an awed gaze at Narcissa. It was an impressive notion, extremely nasty, but impressive none the less.

"Lucius informed me that Mr Lupin was once again a part of the Order after Snape had revealed it to the Death Eaters. At the time, I was rather worried about an Order raid upon the manor, so I had these manufactured." Narcissa replied without hesitation, which caused Remus to flinch and shrink back in his seat as he realized that those two spikes had been made with him in mind. Narcissa put one of the spikes back to where it came from under the close scrutiny of every male eye around the table, before she allowed the other one to pass around the table.

"Have you ever considered a career in the Department of Mysteries? This is brilliant work." Hestia commented as she closely scrutinized the unique weapon, before she passed it along.

"Lucius never would have allowed me a real job. It wasn't 'befitting of a Malfoy', he always claimed." Narcissa replied with a shrug.

"Nice, but back to business." Moody grunted as he glanced hastily at the spike, then passed it along and turned back to Severus.

"How long until the effects of the Veritaserum fades away?" Moody asked and Snape struggled for several moments before he couldn't help but reply.

"Not long now." was all he said however.

"How many of the giants will side with Voldemort?" Alastor demanded to know.

"All of them." Snape grunted out and horrified expressions broke out all around the table.

"And I thought the werewolves were bad enough!" Hestia groaned and shook her head in dismay.

"Fred, George. Remember how you two pranked Terry Boot last winter?" Harry asked the twins who looked at him in confusion for a few moments, then both of them grinned as they realized what he was talking about.

"That's brilliant, oh nearly adopted brother of ours!" one of them approved.

"Smashing idea, beloved main investor of ours!" the other agreed.

"What are you three talking about?" Kingsley rumbled as the twins patted themselves down, looking for something amongst the plentitude of both visible and hidden pockets on their garish robes.

"Ah, found one! I'd be happy to demonstrate, Mr Shacklebolt, if I could borrow a few moments of your time." one of the twins said, but didn't wait for an answer before he pulled Kingsley out of his seat and left him standing a bit away from the table. "This is a Frozen Pond Cracker." he explained and held up a small bright purple firecracker of some sort, which he instantly threw at Kingsley's feet.

+POPBANGCRACKLEPOP+

Kingsley cursed and jumped up away from the noisy firecracker, only to have his eyes widen as the firecracker did more then make a terrible racket. It also emitted a puddle of water which instantly froze beneath him, creating a completely smooth icy surface that had the added benefit of a non-sticking charm, making it more slippery then just about anything.

"Whooop! Waaaah!" he exclaimed as he touched down and entertained the room with a highly impressive display of dexterity as he actually managed to remain upright, despite the fact that his feet were slipping and sliding like crazy, looking almost like something out of a Muggle cartoon.

"Accio Kingsley's boots." the second Weasley brother suddenly said and that was the end of it, Kingsley's feet were both pulled out from underneath him and he went down with a loud thud and a pained exclamation.

"Sorry about that, old chap." the first brother apologized.

"But you did ask, dear chum." the second added.

"They'd need to produce bigger ponds, of course. But get a couple of those at the feet of some clumsy giant and he'll be kept busy until somebody magics the ice away, if they just don't simply manage to knock themselves unconscious in the fall." Harry commented.

"Assuming of course that the fallen giant..." one of the brothers spoke up.

"Doesn't crush the nearby wizards when it topples..." the other continued.

"Thus leaving the giant without someone to remove..." was added.

"The ice and thus trapping it for the rest of the day." was the finish.

"Have you two ever considered a career in the Department of Mysteries? This is brilliant too!" Hestia asked as she stared at the sheet of polished ice covering a patch of the floor.

"Don't give the lads any ideas, Jones." Shacklebolt groused as he made his way back to his seat, rubbing his tender backside. "We'll have to work in the same building, after all."

"I think the effects of the serum have passed, due to all these interruptions." Moody sighed as he peered closely at Snape. "His eyes cleared for a moment, before they turned glassy again. He's just trying to give off the impression of still being drugged." he sighed and stood up, spinning around to face the rest of the room. "What are we going to do about this piece of human excrement?" Moody grunted with a nod in Snape's direction.

"If Potter doesn't want to press charges against him, I suggest we Obliviate him and send him back to spy on the Dark Lord. But never let him in on any important meetings ever again." Narcissa suggested with a shrug.

"Charge him? The man has done a great service to our cause, despite recent wrongdoings." Dumbledore interjected. "And Obliviate him? That isn't very ethical."

"No, I suppose not. What do you suggest instead?" Narcissa agreed.

"Let him go back to spy on the Dark Lord as he is." Dumbledore said.

"Oh, of course. Why, he's only mentally raped Potter, killed and tortured innocents and sold the Order out to the Dark Lord. Of course we should just let him go without seeing justice made, that's much more ethical. How silly of me." Narcissa mocked with a snort.

"He still goes unpunished if we Obliviate him, however." Kingsley argued.

"Well, this is as I see it. Either we put him in Azkaban for life for his numerous crimes, both past and present. That would be the ethical thing to do, which is why I find it so surprising that Dumbledore didn't suggest this course of action." Narcissa replied. "In spite of the fact that he deserves jail, he can still be of use to us however. So we Obliviate him and make him believe that I made all of you think that it would be foolish to have him as a part of our Inner Circle, then send him back while telling him to keep silent about the fact that he doesn't know very much about what we're up to any more."

"If the Dark Lord kills him, well, then we know for sure that he's useless as a spy anyway because the Dark Lord can pass through his Occlumency barriers like they weren't even there. But justice will still be served, as Snape is put to the death he so richly deserves. If the Dark Lord doesn't kill him, well, then he can somewhat redeem himself for his crimes by doing the Order a great service as a spy." Narcissa continued and then her face hardened. "Only this time, we verify everything he says with Veritaserum, everything! This will also ensure us that he's telling us everything, then we Obliviate his memories of the interrogation and send him back again, none the wiser that we've interrogated him with Veritaserum."

"I like the way you think, lass. I like it very much! Constant vigilance!" Moody approved with a wide grin.

"This is a mans life we're talking about here. You're willing to gamble with a mans life? Truly?" Dumbledore asked with an ashen face.

"If you hadn't been blatantly ignoring all his victims over the years and allowed him to stand trial for his many crimes, instead of being allowed to go out and commit more crimes and thus creating more victims, he would have been given the Dementors Kiss or thrown in Azkaban for life anyway. The only reason why he still has a life, is because you have been ignoring the fact that he's been out creating orphans, widows and widowers. We are talking about a torturing mass-murderer here. Are you telling me that the fact that he's a spy for us, justifies that he goes out on Death Eater raids, killing innocents? Are you telling me that his life is worth more then all the men, women and children he's killed over the years?" Narcissa argued. "Do you realize that by protecting this man from justice, you're an accomplice to all the murders he's committed since you started holding his back and offering him your protection? That without you getting involved, men, women and children who are dead today would be alive? Think about that, before you start rambling about gambling with lives." Narcissa spat out.

She didn't actually care overly much, those Severus had killed were mostly Muggles anyway and while she didn't advocate killing Muggles, she didn't see it as a great loss if somebody else killed them off. But the Order was composed out of goody two-shoes and by associating Dumbledore with Severus murders, even indirectly, his position would be weakened.

And that was something she did care about. If she was going to be part of some light-sided Order, it had damn well better be an effective one and with Dumbledore as a leader, it wouldn't be. She would prefer it if she herself held the reins, but the chances of that happening were slim to none, she figured. She was too new, too outspoken and too many didn't trust her.

Moody would be her second option, as he at least had the guts to do whatever necessary to get the job done. But he was also too outspoken, too paranoid and likely wouldn't get much support from the rest of the order.

She would probably have to back someone lesser suited individual that she didn't really think was appropriate for the job, but who'd still do better as the orders leader then Dumbledore would. Someone like Kingsley Shacklebolt, Amos Diggory or Flitwick.

Or...

Narcissa hastily glanced over at Potter, before she redirected her attention to Dumbledore, who seemed to be nearing some sort of mental breakdown from all the shocks he'd received during this meeting. She'd have to think about the Potter option later, for now, there were much more amusing and important things to do.

"But... It was in the best interests..." Dumbledore weakly spoke up, but didn't manage to finish his sentence, before he trailed off by himself and fell silent.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Narcissa replied after a few moments of silence and Dumbledore seemingly flinched back from her before she'd even said much. "But even acts done in everybody's best interests have consequences. For instance, your decision to put Potter with the Muggles, meant that he was likely safe from the Dark Lord, unless of course Pettigrew has told the Dark Lord about Lily's family and he arranges to have them killed while they're outside the Wards. But it also meant that Potter was abused on a daily basis and grew up knowing nothing about magic, leaving him woefully unprepared for his re-entry into the Wizarding World and the current situation." she continued. "Your decision to keep Severus out of jail because he could be useful as a spy, earned you a treasonous spy. The consequences of that, is that Potter was mentally raped, countless of students got a worthless Potion teacher and that men, women and children were killed needlessly." she explained and allowed herself a small smirk. "If you act, you're also responsible for the consequences of that act. You allowed Severus to slaughter innocents, you enabled Severus to mentally rape Potter and you put Potter at his relatives to be abused. You may not have raised your hand against them yourself, but you might just as well have." she finished sternly and this appeared to be the fabled last drop.

Dumbledore pushed away from the table, the chair toppling to the ground as he stared around the room with a wild expression, until his gaze fell upon Harry. He stared in horror at him for a few moments, then he burst out in tears and moved surprisingly quickly across the room for such an old man. He slammed into Harry with such force that both Harry, chair and Dumbledore fell to the ground, where Harry suddenly found himself wrapped in a bear-hug that put every other hug he'd ever had to shame. It felt as if his head was in danger of popping off his neck from the pressure.

Dumbledore was babbling and Harry had problems hearing what he was talking about, but it appeared to be various pleas for forgiveness, mixed with sobbing apologies.

"S'okay!" he managed to grunt out, awkwardly patting the old headmaster on his back. "S'okay! Now lemme go!" he grunted painfully.

/Score.../ Narcissa thought to herself as she retook her seat.

"Pleased with yourself?" Moody muttered under his breath, just barely loud enough for Narcissa to hear him.

"I have no idea what you mean, Mr Moody." she replied in a hushed whisper, which only Moody was able to hear over Dumbledore's frantic babbling.

"Of course not." Moody grunted in what sounded like displeasure, but there was a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. He still didn't trust her and he'd still put her through interrogation hell with Veritaserum, but he had to admit to himself that she'd done the Order more good in this single meeting then most other people in the room ever had throughout their entire membership in the Order. "Good work, none the less." he offered before he settled back to observe Dumbledore's breakdown, while his magical eye kept an eye on Snape and their surroundings.

The End! ( For now... )


End file.
